Tom Turkey
Tom Turkey is the oldest, most recurring, and the most famous float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Parade's unofficial mascot. Tom is an animatronic Thanksgiving turkey who has occasionally has two people dressed as pilgrims riding on top of him and is also surrounded by actors dressed as pilgrims. He is controlled by a series of cables, levers, and pulleys. Tom generally leads the parade as the first float, bookending the spectacle together with Santa Claus, whose arrival into Herald Square traditionally ends the event. History with the Macy's Parade Tom Turkey v.1 Though many sources claim that the beloved gobbler first appeared in 1971, Tom Turkey gobbled up all of the attention for the first time in the 1973 Parade, under the name "Toy Turkey". The two-tiered float housed a large animatronic turkey who was able to flap his wings, roll his eyes and bob his head thanks to a series of pulleys and levers, making him one of the first fully-animated floats in Parade history. The lower level of the float was a bare, yellow base, decorated with actors dressed as pilgrims.The turkey itself was painted with hues of orange and red, with yellow, blue, and white highlights. In 1974, the float was decorated with sculpted pumpkins and bales of hay. In 1975, the float was given the now-classic name, Tom Turkey. Another change was made to the float in 1983, with the addition of a plaque which read "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade", a feature which would remain until 1988. This version of the float would be the one that harkened Tom Turkey as an official Parade mascot, making 20 consecutive appearances before its retirement in 1992. Tom Turkey v.2 After the 1992 Parade had ended, the Tom Turkey float was given a refreshed paint job. Although the base of the float remained nearly identical, the float now sported autumn-like hues of orange, red, and brown, with yellow and green highlights. The float was also escorted by an array of pilgrims, autumn leaves, and pumpkin pickers. In 1999, a rope-like barricade was added to the outskirts of the first level for safety purposes. The float was further updated in 2008 when the float’s red fringe and skirt was changed to an orange fringe and art-deco skirt. Much like the last version of the float, it became an instant Parade classic, appearing for over two decades, with the exception of 2003, where he took a “Thanksgiving off”. The second Tom Turkey float was retired after the 2017 Parade. Tom Turkey v.3 In 2018, Tom Turkey would usher the Parade down the route with his most major and extreme refurbishment yet. The basic two-story float base was disposed of, in favor of a much larger three-story float. The Tom Turkey figure would be borrowed from the previous float, and was now painted with browns, golds, oranges, with metallic highlights. His arrival on 34th Street would also be updated, now arriving in a flurry of leaf confetti and having the ability to shoot pyrotechnics from his tail feathers. Now escorted by a series of Macy’s Starlets, cheerleaders, and three massive two-story tall Opening Macy’s Star balloons. The Tom Turkey float is also the second-ever self-propelled float in the Parade’s history, following closely behind 1982’s Big Apple float. The float was further updated in 2019, adding leaf accents to the float escort’s costume pieces, and adding more gold, red and yellow to the base’s skirt and trim. Balloonicle When the planning stages of the 2015 edition of Macy's Holiday Parade started, both Universal Orlando Resort's entertainment group and the Macy's Parade Studio decided to bring one of the main Parade's traditions to the Florida-based resort's holiday Parade -- in the form of a giant turkey. Mirroring the real Tom Turkey float, a Tom Turkey balloonicle was introduced for the 2015 Parade season, leading the Parade just like his float counterpart. The balloonicle only appeared for two Parade seasons, before retiring alongside everything else in order to make way for the re-branding of Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's in 2017. Since 2017, the balloonicle has been used as a cold-air inflatable decoration upon Macy's 34th Street memorial marquee, serving as a background for the NBC telecast. Appearances in popular culture * The Tom Turkey float, alongside many other classic Parade units, was one of the few items that made a cameo in the 2011 film, Tower Heist. * In the MAD episode "The Bourne Leg-A-Turkey", during the ending scene, when the Talking Turkey was driving his motorcycle upon freedom, he notices a road closure for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade taking place, with Tom Turkey making a cameo in the scene. Coincidentally, in this segment, Tom Turkey was seen as a self-propelled float bearing the Parade's logo on it, yet this feature would later be used for the real float in 2018. Guest Stars Below, you will find a list of every performer/celebrity that has performed/appeared on the float, alongside the respective songs which they sang during the NBC Telecast. Tom Turkey v.1 * '1973 -' George Jones & Tammy Wynette, performed "We're Gonna Hold On" * '1974 -' Howard Keel * '1975 -' Dolly Parton; performed "The Seeker" * '1976 -' The Cast of the New Howdy Doody Show * '1977 -' Mel Tillis * '1978 -' The Oakridge Boys; performed "You're the One (in a Million)" * '1979 -' Mickey Rooney; performed "Jingle Bell Rock" * '1980 -' Sister Sledge; performed "We Are Family" * '1981 -' Donny Osmond; performed "Give My Regards To Broadway" * '1982 -' Keith Carradine * '1983 -' Charley Pride; performed "Down in Louisiana" * '1984 -' Dionne Warwick * '1985 -' Janie Fricke; performed "If the Fall Don't Get You" * '1986 -' Crystal Gayle; performed "Walking In A Winter Wonderland" * '1987 -' Rita Coolidge; performed "Higher and Higher" * '1988 -' Tanya Trucker; performed "Highway Robbery" * '1989 -' Clint Black; performed "Straight from the Factory" * '1990 -' Garth and Sandy Brooks; performed "Two Of A Kind" * '1991 -' Charlie Daniels; performed "Little Folks" * '1992 -' Mac Davis; performed "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" Tom Turkey v.2 * '1994 -' Sheri Lewis; Lambchop & Charlie Horse, performed "Don't Just Sit There" * '1995 -' Shania Twain; performed "Any Man Of Mine" * '1996 -' Bo Diddley; performed "Bo Diddley Is Crazy" * '1997 -' Sheri Lewis & Charlie Horse; performed "I Love The Macy's Parade" * '1998 -' Martina McBride; performed "Happy Girl" * '1999 -' Susan Lucci * '2000 -' The Corrs; performed "Breathless" * '2001 -' Willard Scott * '2004 -' Julie Roberts; performed "You Ain't Down Home" * '2010 -' Eric Hutchinson; performed "Best Days" & Alton Brown * '2011 -' Avril Lavinge; performed "Wish You Were Here" * '2012 -' Geoffrey Zakarian & Robin Hall * '2013 -' Sandra Lee * '2014 -' Sandra Lee * '2015 -' Sandra Lee * '2016 -' Sandra Lee * '2017 -' Padma Lakshmi & Tom Colicchio from Bravo's Top Chef Category:Floats Category:1973 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Traditions Category:1970s Floats Category:1990s Floats Category:2010s Floats Category:Current Floats Category:Retired Floats Category:Recycled Floats Category:Balloonicles